Najib claimed the policy did nothing to help the Indian community enter institutions of higher learning.

âIf we donât do something, maybe the participation of Indians in institutions of higher learning would be only 3-4%, not up to 7%.

âThis will be a loss to the Indians because if one child succeeds, he can help other family members,â he said when officiating the Indian Progressive Frontâs 25th AGM.

âThe meritocracy policy was introduced not during my time, but durin g the time of others, but this policy does not help the Indian community,â he said, without mentioning the name of the leader who started the meritocracy policy.

In 2002, former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad had replaced the race quota system for public universities with the meritocracy policy in an effort to encourage healthy competition among Malay students.

Najib, who is also Barisan Nasional (BN) president, said he recognised that something needed to be done in order to help the Indian community with its education.

He said this was the reason that his administration had allocated 1,500 seats in the matriculation programme for the Indian community which had never been done before his time.

He said he had also instructed his administration to add another 700 extra spots for Indian students in institutions of higher learning recently.

âIf we allow meritocracy to be carried out fully, then those who will become victims are the Indian commu nity.â

Najib said all heâs done for the Indian community was part of his commitment to see the Indian community rise and so they wouldnât accuse the government of making empty promises.